South Asia

Ch. 24 Notes: Physical Geography

Countries of South Asia

• India• Pakistan• Bangladesh• Sri Lanka• Bhutan• Nepal• Maldives

Geographical Facts• South Asia is a large landmass that extends

southward from the continent of Asia into the Indian Ocean.

Population Facts• Nearly 1.5 billion people (2010 census)• 20% of world pop.

Physical GeographyIndia is a huge peninsula separated from the Asian mainland by the Himalayan Mountains.

Maldives

consists of 1,200 coral islands, none of which covers more than 5 square miles

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has the largest river delta in the world, where the Ganges River and the Bhramaputra River empty into the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka

large island off the southeastern coast of India

Nepal and Bhutan• small countries are tucked away high in

the Himalayas.

Mountains and Plateaus of South Asia

The Himalayas

-system of parallel mountain ranges extending across southern Asia.

The Himalayas

-created by the collision of tectonic plates.

-Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world at 29,029 feet above sea level.

The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everest as seen from the International Space Station looking south-south-east over the Tibetan Plateau. Four of the world's fourteen eight-thousanders, mountains higher than 8000 meters, can be seen. The South Col Route is Mount Everest's most often used climbing route.

The last rays of sunlight on Mount Everest on May 5, 2007.

Mount Everest north face from Ronguk monastery in Tibet.

Aerial view of Mount Everest from the south, with Lhotse in front and Nuptse on the left

The Hindu Kush Mountains

The Hindu Kush Mountains form the northern border between Pakistan and the Eurasian countries.

Karakorum Mountains

This range meets the Himalayan range in the northernmost part of South Asia.

The combination of these ranges create a formidable barrier between the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia.

Vindhya Mountains

This range lies across the center of the Indian subcontinent. These mountains have created a barrier between the people in the northern part of India and those in the south.

The Ghats and the Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau, Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats form a triangle at the southern tip of the subcontinent.

Major River Systems• The sources of the major rivers are found

in the Himalayan Mountains.

• Three Great Rivers of South Asia:– The Indus River– The Ganges River– The Bhramaputra River

The Indus River• the site of some

of the earliest civilizations in South Asia.

• It flows mainly through Pakistan and empties into the Arabian Sea.

The Ganges River

considered a sacred river to the people in South Asia.

carries fertile soil from the mountains into the floodplains of the great river.

The Indo-Gangetic Plain is the huge alluvial plain created by the flooding of the Indus and Ganges rivers. It is the largest continuous alluvial plain in the world.

Indo-Gangetic Plain

The population densities reach more than 1,000 people per square mile

The Bhramaputra River

flows out of the mountains near Nepal and joins the Ganges to create the broad delta along the Bay of Bengal

Natural Resources• Fertile soil• hydroelectricity• Fish and other seafood• Oil and Natural gas• Minerals: iron ore, manganese, chromite, coal,

gypsum, copper, gold, and mica.• Graphite (Sri Lanka)• Precious and semi-precious stones (sri Lanka)• Timber

ClimateThe coldest climates are found in the

highlands.

Desert climates are found along the Indus River and to the east of the Indus in the area called the Thar Desert

The Thar Desert

Thar Desert - India

Tropical Climate

-found along the western coast of the Indian subcontinent and in the southwestern part of Sri Lanka.

Monsoon

-the most important climate feature of South Asia.

A monsoon, or seasonal wind, shapes the climate in most of the sub continent.

Winter Monsoon

• Between October and May

• blows from the north bringing cold, dry, continental air from the European continent.

Summer Monsoon

• Between June and September

• blows from the south and southwest carrying warm moist air onto the subcontinent.

• During the Summer monsoon season, heavy rain falls which provides the region with the largest portion of its yearly precipitation.

• Monsoon rainfall is heaviest in the eastern part of South Asia .

• Shillong, a village in northeast India receives over 450” of rainfall each year.

The rainfall brought by the monsoon is critical to the survival of the people living in South Asia.

Each year, millions of people wait and watch for the signs for the coming of the monsoon.

The annual monsoon not only brings the much needed rainfall for successful agriculture but it also causes catastrophic flooding that causes death and destruction every year.

The Deccan Plateau remains High and Dry

• The monsoon rains do not affect all areas of South Asia equally. The Deccan Plateau receives very little rainfall.